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Education

Attending College Classes can be a daunting task. The hours of homework and studying (and the obligatory time spent actually in the classroom) can noticeably eat away at one’s free time (and at times, their sanity). While it can be painful to take on college, attending classes and working on top of it can be exponentially more difficult. Balancing your studies with your responsibilities at work can be tricky, even for those who are experts in time management. When all is said and done, though, the investment is well worth it. As I’ve stated before, Knowledge is power (yes, I know, shameless self promotion), and learning can occur at any opportunity.

I recently realized that with the exception for while sleeping (some days I can count the hours on one hand), I am always learning new things. While my progressing college education keeps me thinking, SoftLayer has taught me more than I ever thought I would learn in such a short amount of time. New operating systems (at least to me), and continual changes and improvements are synonymous with life at SL. Learning occurs at every customer request, every server build, and every operating system install. Certainly, employment here is not for the faint of heart. More so, no one can say that they didn’t leave their shift just a bit smarter than when they arrived.

Knowledge is important in this industry, as knowing the correct process to solve a problem can mean the difference between five hours and five minutes of downtime. While everyone has their strengths, the team that we have here supersedes any possible weaknesses, leading to one of the brightest group of individuals anyone could have the privilege of working with. I spend my shifts perpetually challenged, but never overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of issues (read: learning opportunities) that present themselves every day. While I will concede that classes such as precalculus and humanities may not directly sharpen my troubleshooting skills, being able to think logically and follow procedures will certainly pay off in the long run.